Summary

There are clearly many pathways through which climate change will impact food availability, access, and utilization. Climate induced changes in agricultural productivity will likely affect the incomes earned and the food prices faced by poor households, with the net effect on food security a function of each household's particular set of livelihood strategies. In addition, health impacts associated with climate change could hamper the ability of individuals to utilize food effectively. These multiple potential impacts will occur in the midst of broader trends in global and regional food security, which include rapid recent progress throughout much of the developing world, but little improvement across most of the African continent, much of which remains desperately poor and food insecure.

The remainder of the book treats in detail some of the evidence surrounding specific aspects of climate impacts on food security, and in particular the methods used to understand them. Somewhat inescapably, however, the book focuses on topics where current knowledge and methods are most developed - which are issues primarily surrounding the food availability aspects of food security. But this subsequent focus should not distract from the broader message of this chapter, which is that food security is more than just food production, and that some of the most important effects of climate on food security could be through its effects on incomes, food prices, and the health of the poor.

Renewable energy is energy that is generated from sunlight, rain, tides, geothermal heat and wind. These sources are naturally and constantly replenished, which is why they are deemed as renewable. The usage of renewable energy sources is very important when considering the sustainability of the existing energy usage of the world. While there is currently an abundance of non-renewable energy sources, such as nuclear fuels, these energy sources are depleting. In addition to being a non-renewable supply, the non-renewable energy sources release emissions into the air, which has an adverse effect on the environment.